Did you know that school-going children are now on dating apps, swiping away their lockdown blues? Did you know that young adults are exploring dating apps because they have the ‘time’ to explore? Antony Palackal, a Professor and Department Head of Sociology at the University of Kerala conducted a study recently. He wanted to know about the influence and psychosocial effects of COVID-19-induced social isolation on university students. The results of his study show that Kerala’s youth are getting addicted to porn & dating apps.
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We all moved to digital environments in March 2020 last year. It continues to be a major part of our life. Right from school-going children to adults working-from-home, they all have access to the internet 24/7. “In the absence of social interaction, they are drawn to the digital world,” shared Antony Palackal.
His study also found that many students are facing ‘maladjustment issues’, and therefore, getting addicted to porn sites. A Google search of the word ‘porn’ is all you need to get access to pornography. So when you have access to the internet, a good percentage of them getting addicted to porn (& dating apps) is inevitable, especially when you have been in social isolation.
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Another interesting point that Mr Palackal shared in his interaction with The Hindu is that students are now exploring platforms meant for the LGBTQA+ community. There now have access to ample information online, which wouldn’t have been the case earlier.
There’s also the dark side to being online. The past one and a half years saw a rise in cybercrime, digital dating abuse, gaming addiction, porn addiction etc. There is a tendency for children to have behavioural changes in such cases if not detected earlier. Under parental guidance, a lot can be done to restrict digital access and monitor their online activity.
